BUSH - GIVE UP THE TERRORISTS!

"America has a message for the nations of the world: If you harbor
terrorists, you are terrorists. If you train or arm a terrorist, you
are a terrorist. If you feed a terrorist or fund a terrorist, you're a
terrorist, and you will be held accountable." George W. Bush, 21st
November 2001

Cuban-Venezuelan Luis Posada is wanted for blowing up an airliner in
1976, killing 73 people. He was arrested last month in the US, which
is refusing to hand him over to Venezuela, where he escaped from jail.
His partner in crime, Orlando Bosch, was given a presidential pardon
by Bush the Elder and now lives in Miami, where they have named a
street after him.

In Colombia this year a total of seven US soldiers (including a
colonel) have been arrested for, between them, selling ammunition to
right-wing paramilitaries and attempting to smuggle cocaine into the
US. Before the Colombian judiciary could blink, they were whisked out
of the country to prevent further embarrassment and have not yet been
charged with any crime.

Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada used to be President of Bolivia, before he
ordered the massacre of peaceful protesters in 2003 and fled to Miami
to escape the furious backlash. Bolivians want him tried for crimes
against humanity, but that doesn't seem likely while he's protected by
the US government, who immediately granted him political asylum.

Notice a pattern?

The problem for Bush is that these cases all reveal the ugly underside
of US foreign policy in Latin America. Declassified FBI documents
prove Posada was a CIA agent (specialising in explosives) while also
freelancing for the Las Vegas mafia. After escaping Venezuelan jail in
1985 he worked for Oliver North supplying arms to the US-backed
Contras in their war against the left-wing Sandinista government in
Nicaragua. His terrorist career continues in Cuba (where he had been a
policeman under the Batista dictatorship) with a string of hotel
bombings during an international youth festival in 1997, resulting in
several injuries and the death of an Italian tourist. In an interview
with the New York Times the following year Posada practically boasted
about this terrorism. He was part of the infamous Operation Condor,
which co-ordinated right-wing military dicatorships in the region for
the US government, and has tried to assassinate Castro at least twice:
once in Caracas in 1971 (while head of DISIP, the Venezuelan political
police) and again in 2000 in Panama, where he served four years in
jail before being pardoned by the outgoing president (who now lives in
Florida).

On Monday 13th June, there will be an immigration hearing in El Paso,
Texas, to decide Posada's fate. The case has become a major headache
for George Bush, as Posada is hailed as a hero amongst the rich
right-wing Castro-hating Miami Cubans who form a key component of his
(and especially his brother's) base of support. However, refusal to
extradite Posada will clearly make a mockery of the whole "War on
Terror". Posada is a 77-year-old man who has lead a lifetime of
terrorism directed against progressive movements in Latin America. The
embarrassing fact that this terror was in line with US foreign policy
and supported by the US government doesn't make harbouring him any
less hypocritical. Join the international outrage over these
double-standards and protest outside the US embassy in London on this
day from 4pm to 7pm. Music, food and an open-mic, with speakers from
Hands Off Venezuela, Bolivia Solidarity Campaign, Colombia Solidarity
Campaign and others. Pass it on!

BUSH - GIVE UP THE TERRORISTS!

"America has a message for the nations of the world: If you harbor
terrorists, you are terrorists. If you train or arm a terrorist, you
are a terrorist. If you feed a terrorist or fund a terrorist, you're a
terrorist, and you will be held accountable." George W. Bush, 21st
November 2001

Cuban-Venezuelan Luis Posada is wanted for blowing up an airliner in
1976, killing 73 people. He was arrested last month in the US, which
is refusing to hand him over to Venezuela, where he escaped from jail.
His partner in crime, Orlando Bosch, was given a presidential pardon
by Bush the Elder and now lives in Miami, where they have named a
street after him.

In Colombia this year a total of seven US soldiers (including a
colonel) have been arrested for, between them, selling ammunition to
right-wing paramilitaries and attempting to smuggle cocaine into the
US. Before the Colombian judiciary could blink, they were whisked out
of the country to prevent further embarrassment and have not yet been
charged with any crime.

Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada used to be President of Bolivia, before he
ordered the massacre of peaceful protesters in 2003 and fled to Miami
to escape the furious backlash. Bolivians want him tried for crimes
against humanity, but that doesn't seem likely while he's protected by
the US government, who immediately granted him political asylum.

Notice a pattern?

The problem for Bush is that these cases all reveal the ugly underside
of US foreign policy in Latin America. Declassified FBI documents
prove Posada was a CIA agent (specialising in explosives) while also
freelancing for the Las Vegas mafia. After escaping Venezuelan jail in
1985 he worked for Oliver North supplying arms to the US-backed
Contras in their war against the left-wing Sandinista government in
Nicaragua. His terrorist career continues in Cuba (where he had been a
policeman under the Batista dictatorship) with a string of hotel
bombings during an international youth festival in 1997, resulting in
several injuries and the death of an Italian tourist. In an interview
with the New York Times the following year Posada practically boasted
about this terrorism. He was part of the infamous Operation Condor,
which co-ordinated right-wing military dicatorships in the region for
the US government, and has tried to assassinate Castro at least twice:
once in Caracas in 1971 (while head of DISIP, the Venezuelan political
police) and again in 2000 in Panama, where he served four years in
jail before being pardoned by the outgoing president (who now lives in
Florida).

On Monday 13th June, there will be an immigration hearing in El Paso,
Texas, to decide Posada's fate. The case has become a major headache
for George Bush, as Posada is hailed as a hero amongst the rich
right-wing Castro-hating Miami Cubans who form a key component of his
(and especially his brother's) base of support. However, refusal to
extradite Posada will clearly make a mockery of the whole "War on
Terror". Posada is a 77-year-old man who has lead a lifetime of
terrorism directed against progressive movements in Latin America. The
embarrassing fact that this terror was in line with US foreign policy
and supported by the US government doesn't make harbouring him any
less hypocritical. Join the international outrage over these
double-standards and protest outside the US embassy in London on this
day from 4pm to 7pm. Music, food and an open-mic, with speakers from
Hands Off Venezuela, Bolivia Solidarity Campaign, Colombia Solidarity
Campaign and others. Pass it on!